Agricultural Land Classification Survey for Hetton Le Hole, 1989-1999

Hetton Le Hole survey data provides detailed Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) grades for a site in Sunderland, surveyed between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps and reports, with grades subdivided into 3a and 3b where applicable. It is published by the Government Digital Service and contains Natural England and Ordnance Survey copyright data.

Use Cases

• Map historical agricultural land quality based on detailed ALC grades.
• Analyze soil suitability for specific crops based on subgrade classifications (3a, 3b).
• Compare land classification methodologies using the referenced grading system.
• Integrate scanned survey maps with modern GIS data for land-use change analysis.

Strengths

• Survey data uses the current grading methodology as described in the official 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales'.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer granularity.
• Original unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are available for some surveys.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service / Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999, with scanned original paper maps and reports.

Time Range

1989-1999

Geography

Hetton Le Hole, North of Moorsley Rd (Sunderland UDP Objectors Site HA5.26), England